STOCKTON — A French Camp man will serve five years in prison after pleading guilty to a racially motivated assault of an African-American teenager on a Manteca street in July, court officials said.

On Monday, Michael Christopher Pulliam, 42, pleaded guilty to charges that he caused great bodily harm during a July 2 assault near Southside Park. He also pled guilty to charges of battery, violation of civil rights and a hate crime enhancement.

The charges could have carried a 10-year prison sentence, said San Joaquin Deputy District Attorney Rick Price.

However, Pulliam’s lack of a criminal record likely guided San Joaquin Superior County Stephen Demetras towards the lesser sentence, Price said.

Pulliam’s court records indicate he did not have any criminal infractions since 1992, where he pleaded no contest to marijuana cultivation.

“I believe the judge felt that though it’s a horrible crime, it was possibly outside his character,” Price said, noting that Pulliam was intoxicated and there were no violent crimes on his record.

In an Aug. 30 preliminary hearing, the victim testified that she was walking down Sequoia Avenue around 6 p.m. when she heard racial epithets being yelled from the street.

She stopped to send a text message on her cell phone, looked up and saw a man running at her.

According to testimony, the next thing she knew she was struck in the face with a fist and fell to the ground.

The victim, though not seeking the assistance of an ambulance or EMT, did lose consciousness which “constitutes a concussion,” Price said during the hearing.

Neighbor Monica Hennings testified that hours earlier she observed Pulliam “partying or having fun” at a residence across the street and swearing at people as they drove by, regardless of race.

Hennings said she later saw Pulliam run after the girl, strike her in the face and “three or four more times” on the ground.

Manteca Police Officer Jason May testified that Pulliam was intoxicated based on his slurred speech and smelling of alcohol when taken into custody, adding the victim only appeared to have a bruise on her left temple.

Police also insisted during Pulliam’s arrest that tattoos on his body supported claims that racial hatred prompted the assault.

The case is one of few offenses prosecuted as hate crimes in the county over the past few years, officials said.

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